Paul McCartney is best known as one of the lead singers of The Beatles. But he’s also the leading man in another crew of rock stars. Meet Heather, Mary, Stella, James and Beatrice McCartney, Paul’s five grown children who range in age from 20 to 61.
Always the devoted dad, Paul lent his kids a hand when they needed it and supported their passions beyond his rock ’n’ roll expertise, as they sought to define themselves outside of being “nepo babies” (though one of them is perfectly OK with the label).
In a 2023 interview published on his website, McCartney said, “I’ve always just tried to give my kids a bit of guidance, if they seem to need it — but that was mainly when they were younger.
“Now that they are older, they’re guiding me! They don’t need so much guidance these days but if there’s ever a problem, I’m very happy to be the guy they come to. So, that’s largely the thing of being a dad. You’re just there to help, and I suppose have fun with — we do have a lot of fun. Now they’re older we can have a drink together, for instance!”
Read on for everything else we know about his brood, just in time for the newly restored version of the 1970 film “The Beatles: Let It Be,” now streaming on Disney+.
Heather Louise McCartney, 61
Heather’s mother, Linda Eastman, was Paul’s first wife, but he was not her first husband. That was Joseph Melville See Jr., Heather’s biological father. When Joseph and Linda divorced, Heather was still a toddler, and shortly after Linda married Paul in 1969, Paul adopted Heather, according to IMDb.
Fans can catch an early glimpse of Heather in the 1970 film “The Beatles: Let It Be”; archival footage of her as a child also appears in “The Beatles: Get Back,” the docuseries from creator Peter Jackson, streaming on Disney+.
To hear her singing, queue up “Ram” (1971) and “New” (2013). She provided backup vocals on both albums for her dad.
When she was 19, she studied photography in London, according to “Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney,” a biography about the Beatle by Howard Sounes, then found a passion for pottery.
In 1999, Heather debuted a line of home items called The Heather McCartney Housewares Collection in Atlanta, Georgia, BBC News reported. Paul was there to support his daughter; a year after Linda’s death, it marked his first visit to the U.S. after her passing.
Speaking to BBC News, Heather said her mother was a big influence on her work — but she also credited her dad.
“As a father, he’s most important to me to help me deal with everything we’re dealing with,” she said.
“It’s obviously been a very difficult time for us this past year, but you know we’re drawing on the energies, and we’re moving forward.”
Mary Anna McCartney, 54
Mary, Linda and Paul’s firstborn, entered the pictured in 1969, just as the Beatles were splitting up. Over the years, she leaned into her mother’s passion for photography. In a 2020 interview with journalist Alain Elkann, she recalled the moment she was hooked.
“(My mom) took me to her darkroom in Soho and printed a little 10-by-8-inch image herself, and it was just me and her,” she said. “She took the small piece of blank white paper and put it into the tray, and then waved it from side to side, and I saw this black-and-white image magically appear. As a child the impact of that magic in that moment really went into my heart.”
Since then, her photographs have appeared in GQ, Vogue and The Sunday Times. In 2015, she photographed Queen Elizabeth II in honor of the royal’s record-breaking reign, People reported.
Mirroring an accomplishment of her mother’s, who, per Rolling Stone, was the first female photographer to shoot a cover for the publication, Mary photographed her dad alongside Taylor Swift for a special November 2020 musicians issue.
“Life turning full circle,” she wrote on Instagram at the time.
Mary continues to share her work on her Insta with her 295,000 followers. But her love of photography isn’t limited to still work.
In 2022, Mary made her feature-length directorial debut with a documentary called “If These Walls Could Sing,” which chronicles the history of Abbey Road where The Beatles recorded.
Beyond her passion for camerawork, she loves cooking and creating healthy meals. In addition to authoring three vegan cookbooks, per her website, she is the host of “Mary McCartney Serves It Up,” the Daytime Emmy-nominated series from Food Network that is now streaming on Discovery+.
Dear old Dad even shows up in an episode. See below.
Mary is currently married to filmmaker Simon Aboud, per The Guardian; the couple shares two children, Sam and Sid Aboud. She also has two children, Arthur and Elliot Donald, from her previous marriage to director/producer Alistair Donald, per The Standard.
“[My dad] has always been so supportive of my career and is the first person I show around an exhibition,” she told The Guardian in 2023. “He’s always genuinely interested. Often I’ll show him a selection of images and ask his opinion.”
Stella Nina McCartney, 52
Born in London in 1971 to Paul and Linda, Stella has become perhaps the best-known of the McCartney children, independently successful as a fashion designer.
Stella spent much of her early life on the road with her family, as Paul and Linda toured with their band, Wings (the band’s name was inspired by Stella, whose birth was difficult for Linda, as Paul explained to Far Out magazine in 2022). But instead of following in her parents’ footsteps, Stella found her calling in fashion.
At 16, she interned at Christian Lacroix, according to a 2015 Vogue article, and at 25 was named creative director of Chloé. In 2001, she launched her own self-titled brand, and she’s been a boldfaced name in the fashion industry ever since, always crafting her collections without leather, fur or PVC plastic (that is, vinyl) — a choice that adheres to her vegetarian lifestyle, per Viva!
In 2003, Stella married Alasdhair Willis — the consultant she hired to help launch her Stella McCartney line, per Vogue — in a small, private wedding in Scotland, People reported. They have four children together: two sons (Miller, Beckett) and two daughters (Bailey and Reiley).
Over the years, Stella has made several headlines. In 2018, she became the sole owner of her label, buying back ownership from Kering, according to Fashion United. The same year, People reported that she designed one of the dresses the former Meghan Markle wore on her and Prince Harry’s wedding day. And three years later, she launched a limited-edition Beatles capsule collection in tandem with the “The Beatles: Get Back” docuseries.
When it comes to her last name and the privileges that accompany it, she’s well aware of the doors it opens and how it’s helped her become who she is today.
“As one of the first nepo babies, I had the privilege of choice,” she told Time in 2023. “I’m very aware of how lucky I’ve been.”
James Louis McCartney, 46
James, born in 1977 in London, is Linda and Paul’s youngest child together and only son. One glance at the 46-year-old might cause a double take, but looks aren’t the only trait he shares with his dad.
He’s also a singer-songwriter and even has a Lennon collaboration of his own. Earlier this year, James teamed up with John Lennon’s youngest son, Sean Ono Lennon, for the song “Primrose Hill,” The Guardian reported.
“I had a vision as a child in Scotland, on what was a lovely summers day,” he wrote about the song on X, formerly Twitter. “Letting go, I saw my true love and saviour in my mind’s eye. ‘Primrose Hill’ is about getting the ball rolling with me & finding this person.”
Despite his music career, James has remained reasonably private. Though there are not a lot of details about his life, he did talk to the Irish Mirror in 2013 about not attending a private school and experiencing bullying for being the son of a famous man.
“Everyone at school knew who my dad was,” he said.
“There was a little bit of bullying, just a little bit. I got the same thing as everyone gets really; all kids get bullied a little bit,” he added. “I got jokey nicknames like Macaroni. Then I had good nicknames like Car — from McCartney.”
In the same interview, James spoke about spiraling after his mother’s death in 1998, becoming estranged from his family and descending into drugs. He’s since been to rehab and continues to grow his musical career.
He began releasing music in 2010, according to Discogs, with a handful of EPs, and then made his full-length album debut with “Me” in 2013. Co-produced by his father, it includes a track, “Thinking About Rock and Roll,” that features Paul on backup vocals.
During a visit to “BBC Breakfast” in 2013, James briefly shared his thoughts on carrying the last name of McCartney and how it affects him in his career.
“I thought, I’m not going to be oppressed by certain things; I am just going to carry on and do my own thing,” he said.
Beatrice Milly McCartney, 20
The youngest of Paul’s children, Beatrice is also the only one born after Linda’s death.
In 2002, Paul married Heather Mills, and the two welcomed a baby girl weighing 7 pounds a year later in London, the BBC reported.
“She is a little beauty and we couldn’t be prouder,” the couple said in a statement at the time.
Paul and Heather’s marriage lasted six years; the two finalized their divorce in 2008.
The following year, Paul talked about taking care of a young daughter all over again in an interview with The Telegraph.
“I don’t have a nanny. I do all the regular stuff myself,” he said. “I take her to school, talk to all the mums, talk to the teacher then pick her up from school. I love every second of it and I’m not exhausted at all. […] It’s a thrill bringing up a young kid, it’s such an education. I am a different dad now, but it’s good.”
In 2011, Paul married his current wife, Nancy Shevell, with Beatrice playing a role as a flower girl in the wedding (Stella designed the bride’s dress).
Speaking on “Oprah: Where Are They Now?” in 2016, Heather shared that she’s proud she’s kept Beatrice out of the public eye.
“She’s not mixing in celebrity lifestyle; she’s not out in public places where the whole celebrity thing goes on,” she said.
The previous year, she told The Guardian that Beatrice “hates fame and the whole limelight thing,” noting that she wants to be a “marine biologist, not a pop star.”
Heather also shared that Beatrice has a bit of a poet in her, and that she taught her to play the saxophone.
“Beatrice says she’s 99% me,” Heather said. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing. I think she’s got the best of both of us.”